Soulful Strut (3 page)

“I’m guessing that ain’t what the good folks
at New Beginnings mean when they say get a job.” Monette laughed
harder than she had in a long time at the young woman’s antics.

Tyeisha stopped her performance and gave a
melodramatic sigh. “Oh well, bein’ a cashier at the Dollar O’Rama
will have to do for now. Hey, I’m supposed to be givin’ you a tour.
C’mon.”

The Latino woman still lay across her bed
reading a book. She seemed gripped by whatever was printed on the
pages. Monette tapped on the doorframe. “Just wanted to say hello.
I’m Monette Victor.”

“She just moved in. This is Lenore Ruiz.”
Tyeisha seemed not to notice the woman’s guarded expression.
“Lenore has written some kick-ass stories. And talk about blowin’
when it comes to poetry slams. I keep tellin’ the girl she oughta
enter some competitions.”

Lenore smiled at Tyeisha. She gave Monette a
brief nod. “Hi.”

“Lenore shares a room with me and
Rachelle.”

“Nice meeting you.” Monette tugged on
Tyeisha’s hand to signal they should leave.

“Lenore is sweet, but she sorta keeps to
herself most times.” Tyeisha continued her tour. “We’re lucky
enough to have two bathrooms up here on either end of the hallway.
This used to be some rich family’s house back in the day.” Monette
glanced at two small paintings of country scenes in the hallway.
The other bedroom had a lovely wool rug in deep purple, green and
blue. One bathroom was decorated in mint green, the other soft blue
and mint green.

“Nice touches. Not bad for a halfway house,”
Monette said.

“We decorated it all ourselves,” Tyeisha said
proudly. She pointed to a smaller narrow stairway leading up.
“There’s an attic up there. It’s big enough to be another small
bedroom, but we use it for storage. We’ll take your bags up there
later.”

They went downstairs. Monette followed
Tyeisha, taking in all the details. The large foyer had a beautiful
hardwood floor covered by a wool runner that matched the carpet in
the living room. On the opposite side of the foyer was another
room. Tyeisha led the way into it. Books filled the built-in
shelves.

“We have group counseling in here. You can
entertain visitors here, too. That way everybody else don’t have to
leave the living room when one of us has visitors, like our parole
officer.”

“Can’t wait to meet her,” Monette replied.
She liked the room. A bay window faced east.

“Who do you have?” Tyeisha kept going through
the library and out another door.

“Gwen Anderson. Haven’t talked to her yet.”
Monette followed. She glanced in at a half bath across from the
director’s office.

“Yeah. A couple of the others are assigned to
her, too. They pop up whenever to check on us. That’s Sherrial’s
office. Used to be a pantry.” Tyeisha laughed as she pointed to a
closed door.

“She can barely turn around in there I’ll
bet.”

“Sherrial ain’t the most organized woman
either. Here’s the kitchen and dining room. Nice, huh?”

Monette let out a whistle. “This house is
huge.” “Actually we got three floors. You probably couldn’t tell
from the front, but this place is set on a hill. Two more bedrooms
are downstairs. That’s the laundry room through there. Used to be a
side porch, but they closed it in. Twelve women stay here when
we’re full. Thirteen if the admission committee decides to take in
somebody on emergency, but that don’t happen often.” Tyeisha led
her through another small room.

“Hey, Elaine. You met Monette?”

The woman stood up and shook Monette’s hand.
She appeared to be in her mid thirties. Her short hair was dyed a
striking red. Freckles sprinkled her nose. “I’m the part- time
secretary and sometime volunteer cook.”

“Elaine can really work it in the kitchen.
Her spaghetti sauce makes you wanna holler.” Tyeisha smacked her
Ups.

“Don’t even start, Ty. My husband is working
the day shift for a change so I’m not staying late to cook.” Elaine
arched her eyebrows at her.

“They’re trying to get pregnant” Tyeisha said
in a stage whisper.

“We want a girl this time. We already have
two boys, eleven and nine.” Elaine pointed to an array of photos.
Her husband wore a fire captain’s uniform. The boys posed in sports
uniforms, one with a soccer ball and the other in a football
uniform.

“Good luck.” Monette smiled at her.

“Thanks,” Elaine replied. She was about to go
on, but the phone on her desk rang. “New Beginnings. How may I help
you?”

“Let’s go,” Tyeisha said quietly and tugged
on Monette’s arm. “Elaine stays pretty busy, but she still finds
time to take an interest in us. You’ll meet the other staff later.
We have what they call night counselors. Just one person on duty
from eleven until seven in the morning. That’s about it.”

“Thanks for showing me around.” Monette
yawned and blinked hard.

‘Take a nap. You’ve had a long day. They
won’t mind on your first day.” Tyeisha smiled at Monette
warmly.

“Thanks, girl. A nap is a great idea.”

Monette went upstairs, feeling the pull of
exhaustion on her limbs as she climbed the steps. Yet after ten
minutes of staring at the walls, Monette was still awake. She
glanced around at the family photos of children. The smiling faces
opened up a familiar hollow feeling in her chest. Closing her eyes
to force sleep didn’t help. Instead she kept thinking of her own
family. After twenty minutes she gave up and went downstairs again
to the living room. Daytime television had never held much interest
for her, so she flipped through a women’s magazine.

“I just spoke to your parole officer. She
expects to hear from you soon,” Trudy said as she entered.

“Okay. I want to call my family anyway, if
that’s okay. I have a calling card.” Monette put the magazine back
on the long cocktail table.

“You’ve come with more than most of the
women. A career in the spotlight, new clothes and money.” Trudy
wore a tight smile.

“Yeah, but I still belong to the Louisiana
Department of Corrections,” Monette quipped. She heard the message
beneath Trudy’s words.

Trudy merely nodded at her comment and
motioned for her to follow. “Long-distance calls are blocked. Call
the operator and she can walk you through it.”

“Incoming calls, too?” Monette followed her
to an alcove that had been a hall closet. A beige phone sat on a
small table inside with a chair next to it.

“If they’re collect. We had ladies accepting
collect calls from their boyfriends in prison. See you later this
evening.” Trudy went to her office.

Monette waited until Trudy closed her office
door, and then dialed her mother’s number in Rougon. A scratchy
answering machine recording came on. “Hey, Mama. Just calling to
let you know I’m out and to see how you’re doing. Tell everybody I
said hello. Y’all can call me here.”

She hung up knowing they wouldn’t call. Not
unless they thought there was something in it for them. Monette
knew her oldest son, Karl, was at work, so she would call him
later. She toyed with calling Talia at work in Washington, D.C.,
but changed her mind. Talia might not welcome a reminder that
Monette was her mother after the drama that surrounded her release
from prison. Not that Monette could blame her. She stared at the
phone as though it would ring and supply answers about how she
could fix her family problems.

“You okay?” Tyeisha asked as she balanced a
laundry basket on one hip.

“Sure.” Monette put the phone card away and
stood. “Let me help with some chores. I’m used to staying busy
anyway.”

For the rest of the afternoon Monette helped
Tyeisha and Lenore do household tasks. The women were grateful and
finished quickly. Then the three of them watched two court
television shows, laughing at the trivial cases. They especially
enjoyed Divorce Court.

“Man, those two are messed up. Shoulda never
been married.” Tyeisha shook her head and laughed during a
commercial break.

“Those women don’t have no problems. That
last lady should have to put up with my man Ramone,” Lenore said in
a softly accented voice. She waved a hand, dismissing the feuding
couples, and muttered something in Spanish.

“Let’s look at CNN. Maybe they’ll surprise us
and report some good news,” Tyeisha joked as she tapped the remote
buttons.

The front door opened and closed. Minutes
later a voice boomed from the doorway. “Damn, they let anybody in
here.”

Monette glanced up to find her former
cellmate, Candi Lockhart, grinning at her. Candi had both hands on
her hips. She wore a blue plaid shirt and jeans.“Hey, girl,”
Monette laughed. “You looking old and all used up. You should have
stayed inside if this is what the free world does to you.”

“I can still whip your ass used up or not,”
Candi tossed back.

“You know better than to try, too.” Monette
went to her. They hugged each other tightly. Candi’s clothes
smelled faintly of onions and fried food. “How’re you doing?” “Been
on my feet for ten hours cooking and making my boss rich. Otherwise
I’m wonderful.” Candi let go of Monette. She went to a chair and
fell down into it. “Lord have mercy, I’m glad this day is
over.”

“I’m getting hungry just smelling you. Now
get in the kitchen and fix me something to eat.” Monette slapped
Candi’s shoulder as she passed by and sat in another chair across
from her.

“You can forget that. Somebody else is going
to feed me tonight. It’s not my turn.” Candi propped a foot on the
coffee table. “Missed your interview this morning.”

“I taped it,” Lenore said with a shy smile.
“Some of the other ladies asked me to, since this was my day off.
We got us a celebrity.”

“Don’t get her started. I remember back when
Monette first told me she’d been framed. I laughed in her face and
said, ‘Honey, look around. Ain’t nobody in here guilty to let them
tell it.’ You know this witch tried to beat me down?” Candi’s deep
contralto laugh bounced off the walls.

“You lucky that guard stopped me.” Monette
pointed a finger at her.

“Y’all been like sisters ever since, right?”
Tyeisha sat cross-legged on the floor, like a kid listening to her
parents tell stories.

“We had a few more spirited discussions
before that. Candi played tough girl. Well, she wasn’t playing.”
Monette looked at her friend with affection.

“Damn right. Had to get more than a few of
those witches straight before the word got around. Then I grew up
and just did my time.” Candi looked Monette up and down, a gentle
expression on her face. “You look good, Monette.”

“So do you,” Monette replied.

“Psssh. I packed on fifteen pounds, and look
at all this gray in my hair. One good thing about LCIW, we had the
best hairdressers around in there. Didn’t we?”

Monette laughed. “Remember Glorine? She’s
working in a shop in New Orleans.”

“She could style some hair. You know they
want fifty dollars to touch up a perm out here? I got to get me a
raise.” Candi let out a hiss of disgust. Then she nodded at
Monette. “Miss Rich and Famous don’t have that problem. I ain’t mad
at her though.”

Monette felt uncomfortable when the women all
gazed at her. “Not so famous or rich, so don’t get too
jealous.”

“Hey everybody.” A tall woman with her
reddish hair in cornrows stood out in the hallway looking through
mail in her hand.

“Hi, Yarva. This is Monette. You know my
friend I told you about? She finally got here,” Candi called
out“Right. Pardon me for not hangin’ out but I’m gonna get out of
these work clothes.” Yarva nodded at Monette and headed for the
stairs. The name of a janitorial service was stamped on the pocket
of her gray work shirt.

Candi waved at two other women who arrived.
Introductions were made all around. Within the next hour, ten of
the other residents arrived. Most came from work. Two of the women
worked weekends only and did community service during the week. One
by one they all went to their rooms. Tyeisha and Candi stayed
behind with Monette. Tyeisha bobbed her head to music coming from
the television. Monette smiled at the younger woman, who had become
engrossed in a music video.

Candi nodded for Monette to join her in a
seating area across the room. “You called any of your people
yet?”

“Mama wasn’t home. I’ll talk to them later.”
Monette gave a shrug that Candi understood. She wanted to change
the subject from family. “Look at you working as head chef at some
fancy restaurant.”

“Girl, please,” Candi said with a snort. “I’m
a short-order cook at a greasy hole-in-the-wall. Them fancy folks
at the fancy restaurant wasn’t comfortable with my dirty history.
Fine with me. They wasn’t payin’ what I was worth.”

“That’s messed up, Candi.” Monette saw past
her attempt to brush off losing the job.

“Whatever. Now you’re the one with a dream
gig. On national TV, got a book deal. That’s what I’m talkin’
’bout.” Candi snapped her fingers.

“I earned it with almost fifteen years out of
my life. That’s the downside to all this fame. Still, I’m blessed.
Could still be in the prison laundry room.” Monette did not want to
sound ungrateful, especially with the hardships Candi and others
faced.

“I hear ya. Which is why I ain’t sweatin’ one
job. I’m so glad to see you, girl.” Candi hugged Monette again.

“Me, too.” Monette patted her friend’s cheek
when they pulled apart.

“Phew. I stink of fried chicken fingers. I’m
gonna take a warm shower if I can get in one of the bathrooms.
Y’all better not be using up all the hot water,” Candi shouted as
she went into the hallway.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Yarva yelled back. “Who
told you to stay down there runnin’ your mouth?”

Eventually the living room emptied of
everyone but Monette. She listened to the women’s voices as they
exchanged chatter. Despite what Candi and Tyeisha might think,
Monette felt unsure about her future. All the glamour did not
translate into an instant life in the free world. Monette still had
unfinished business with her adult children and the rest of her
family. A book deal and talk show would not solve all her problems.
Trudy came in and straightened magazines on the table.